Instructions and requests fill our days. A manager tells you to send a file, a doctor tells you to rest, a flight attendant asks you to turn off your phone. Very often you must pass these on: 'The doctor told me to rest,' 'She asked us to wait outside.' If you cannot report commands, you are stuck repeating exact words like a recording, which sounds unnatural and is hard to fit into a story.

There is also a politeness benefit. Saying 'He told me to move my car' cleanly separates a firm order from a soft request like 'He asked me to move my car.' Choosing 'tell' or 'ask' correctly shows the listener exactly how strong the original words were.

The pattern is short and fixed: reporting verb + person + to + base verb. 'Wait outside' becomes 'She asked me to wait outside.' 'Close the door' becomes 'He told me to close the door.' Three pieces come after the verb: who received the words (me, us, the students), then 'to,' then the action in its base form.

Choose the reporting verb by strength. 'Tell' reports an order or firm instruction: 'The teacher told us to be quiet.' 'Ask' reports a request: 'She asked me to help her.' Stronger verbs exist too: 'order' for commands, 'warn' for danger, 'remind' for memory, 'advise' for suggestions, and 'invite' for offers. They all use the same skeleton: verb + person + to + base verb. 'He warned us to drive slowly.' 'She reminded me to lock the door.'

For negative commands, put 'not' before 'to.' Direct: 'Don't touch that.' Reported: 'He told me not to touch that.' The 'don't' from the original disappears; only 'not to' remains. This is a common trap, so practice it: 'She asked us not to be late,' never 'She asked us to don't be late.'

Notice how this differs from reported statements. Statements keep a full clause with its own tense: 'She said that she was tired.' Commands throw the tense away completely and use the infinitive instead: 'She told me to rest.' There is no backshift in a reported command, because 'to rest' has no tense to shift. That makes commands the easiest kind of reported speech, as long as you remember the person and the 'to.'

One more note about 'ask.' The same verb reports both questions and requests, and the grammar tells you which is which. 'She asked me to open the window' is a request, an action she wants. 'She asked me if the window was open' is a question, information she wants. Watch what follows 'asked': 'to + verb' means request; 'if' or a wh-word means question.

1. 1. The teacher told us to open our books.

   The core pattern: told + person + to + base verb.

2. 2. She asked her neighbor to water the plants.

   'Ask' reports a polite request, with the same to-infinitive.

3. 3. The doctor told him to drink more water.

   The object 'him' must come before 'to drink.'

4. 4. My mother reminded me to take my keys.

   'Remind' follows the identical pattern: person + to + verb.

5. 5. The sign warned drivers to slow down near the school.

   'Warn' reports a caution about possible danger.

6. 6. He asked the waiter to bring the bill.

   In a restaurant, 'asked' fits because it was a request.

7. 7. She told the children not to run inside.

   Negative command: 'not' sits directly before 'to.'

8. 8. The police officer ordered the man to stop.

   'Order' shows a very strong, official command.

9. 9. They invited us to join them for dinner.

   'Invite' uses the pattern for friendly offers.

10. 10. My boss asked me to finish the report by Friday.

    Work request with a time limit added after the verb.

11. 11. The dentist advised her to brush twice a day.

    'Advise' reports professional advice with to-infinitive.

12. 12. He begged them not to tell anyone his secret.

    'Beg' is a desperate request; the negative still uses 'not to.'

13. 13. Did she ask you to lock up the office?

    The pattern works inside questions about requests too.

14. 14. The guide told the tourists to stay together.

    A plural object 'the tourists' fits the same slot as 'me.'

The most common slip is dropping 'to': 'She asked me wait outside.' English needs the full to-infinitive after 'ask' and 'tell' in this pattern, so the fix is 'She asked me to wait outside.' The little word 'to' is the hinge that connects the person to the action; without it the sentence falls apart.

Another frequent error is dropping the person: 'She told to wait outside.' 'Tell' and 'ask' in this meaning must say who received the instruction: 'She told us to wait outside.' If you truly do not know who was told, choose a different verb, like 'She said we should wait outside.'

Finally, learners often build negatives with 'don't': 'He told me to don't worry.' The direct command 'Don't worry' loses its 'don't' when reported; only 'not' survives, placed before 'to': 'He told me not to worry.' Keep the order 'not to,' never 'to not don't' or 'to don't.'

• Pattern: tell/ask + person + to + base verb.
• Never skip 'to': asked me to wait, told us to stop.
• Always name the person after tell and ask.
• For negatives, use 'not to': told me not to worry.
• Tell reports orders; ask reports polite requests.
• Remind, warn, advise, invite, and order use the same pattern.